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Jennifer Sweeney, 38, of Tinton Falls, was sentenced to 95 years in prison for the murder of 41-year-old Tyrita Julius in 2015, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey said Saturday, May 7. She won't be eligible for parole until she is 100 years old.
The Daily Mail says Sweeney acted out of jealousy when she hired someone to have Julius shot, but months later when she didn't die, Sweeney wrapped her girlfriend's neck in a power cord then buried her body in a shallow grave in a Long Branch backyard, authorities previously announced.
Julius was shot multiple times in the driver's seat of her car on Nov. 24, 2015, in Linden — teenage daughter in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, having also sustained a gunshot wound, the prosecutor said.
In March of the following year, Julius' mom reported her missing to local police, after spending time with a family friend in Tinton Falls.
On Aug. 16. 2016, Julius' body was found by detectives in the Long Branch backyard of the 38-year-old gunman who shot her in November, Andre Harris, authorities said.
Julius' remains were found buried, wrapped in two garbage bags, with an electrical cord around her neck. Sweeney and Harris were subsequently arrested and charged, with a Monmouth County grand jury returning an indictment against each in December 2016.
More than $4,000 had been raised on a GoFundMe for Julius' family as of May 7.
Sweeney was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, weapons offenses, desecration of human remains and tampering with evidence.
“This sentencing is a fitting outcome to the prosecution of genuinely monstrous crimes,” Linskey said. “This defendant’s actions were callous, calculated, and vicious, and ended the life of a woman beloved by her family and friends."
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